American actor Neil Patrick Harris has apologized after a certaom picture resurfaced on social media and caused controversy. The picture was from a Halloween party hosted by Harris and his husband David Burtka eleven years ago where they served a meat platter designed to look like late singer Amy Winehouse's decomposing body.
In a statement given to outlet EW, the 48-year-old star said:
"A photo recently resurfaced from a Halloween-themed party my husband and I hosted 11 years ago. It was regrettable then, and it remains regrettable now. Amy Winehouse was a once-in-a-generation talent, and I'm sorry for any hurt this image caused."
The picture appeared to have been taken at Harris' house. The How I Met Your Mother star received a lot of backlash online after the post went viral. However, this is not the first time that the picture has made its way into social media.
Neil Patrick Harris-Amy Winehouse meat platter controversy explained
Neil Patrick Harris has received a lot of hate online for the distasteful cake at his Halloween party, which he threw with his husband David Burtka eleven years ago. While several websites have reported that Neil Patrick Harris ordered and customized the cake, there is no proof of that statement.
According to Buzzfeed, Harris and his husband Burtka included a buffet plate shaped like Amy Winehouse's dead body in their party.
The graphic plate was served barely three months after Winehouse's death in July 2011. Actor Justin Mikita, partner of Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson, tweeted a photo of it at the time.
The now-deleted post included a photo of the horrific plate depicting Winehouse with one of her eyes plucked out and her tongue lolling out of the mouth. As per the publication, the caption read:
"Look who showed up @ActuallyNPH & @GourmetMD’s Halloween party last night. Looking good."
The picture showed the meat cake was on a plate resembling a stretcher and it was accompanied by a card that read, "The Corpse of Amy Winehouse." Designed to be hyper-realistic, it showed skin patterns resembling degradation of the body and an autopsy scar on her chest.
Mikita instantly removed the tweet, but not before numerous users screenshotted it.
About Amy Winehouse
Amy Winehouse rose to fame in her late teens after she released her debut album in 2003. Her second album, titled Back to Black, released in 2007 and she won five Grammy Awards in 2008 for it.
After struggling with drugs and alcohol addiction her entire life, she passed away due to alcohol poisoning at the age of 27. Following the star's death, her mother Janis Winehouse and her father Mitch co-founded the Amy Winehouse Foundation to assist other young people battling addiction.